The Burglar and the Storyteller
by tangle.of.ivy
Summary: Bilbo traveled to Erabor with his best friend, the unofficial Storyteller of Hobbiton. Now it's a year later and they're both helping each other heal and find peace. But a certain wizard won't let them get too comfortable for long, and he's determined to get the two hobbits to stop dancing around each other and confess. Cue Gandalf intervention! (sort of) Soulmate AU


**The Burglar and the Storyteller**

 _This story was inspired by an imagine I sent in to middle-earth-imagines (on tumblr) that went like this:_

"Imagine Bilbo having a hard-core crush on you that he never mentions until Gandalf explains that you're soulmates. Then he can't tell you fast enough and you end up kissing in his back garden."

 _It was meant to be a short story, but...I was avoiding working on my edTPA. I was super accurate about some Lotr facts (like the names of the Gamgee children) but I also took some license with a few others (like the fact that it's hinted Frodo is Bilbo's actual nephew instead of a distant cousin who just calls him Uncle). No flames please! I don't own anything belonging to Tolkein, Middle Earth, or the movie franchise._

 **Word Count: 5,014**

 **Bilbo Baggins / OC**

 **(sort of) Soulmate AU**

* * *

Bilbo loved an afternoon tea gathering as well as any hobbit. Gandalf had arrived the day before and was staying in a special sized room they kept at the Green Dragon for people of his size. Bilbo's sister and her husband were there, along with Bell and Hamfast Gamgee and their many children. But after his sister surprised them all by announcing that she was pregnant, he didn't feel like he was up for any more surprises that day. They'd even picked out names already! Frodo for a boy and Amelia for a girl. Bilbo was beginning to feel rather worn out and irritable.

 _I'm getting old._ He thought tiredly as he rinsed out teacups at the sink.

He could hear the children running around the parlor and up and down the hallways. He hoped that they were staying out of his study. He'd locked the door securely, but he figured he'd better check it again at some point. Little Halfred in particular had clever little fingers that always managed to make their way into things they shouldn't. Bell Gamgee had told him that they wanted to have another child sometime in the future. They were hoping for another boy to make it an even three boys and three girls. She'd asked his opinion on the name Samwise.

 _As if they don't have enough chaos contained in one house._ Bilbo thought with a shake of his head. He liked children, but the tangled of screaming arms and legs that were the Gamgee offspring didn't count as children in his book. More like a hurricane.

Bilbo's hands slipped on the soapy teacup and he flailed to catch it before it smashed onto the counter. His pinky hooked on the handle and he sighed in relief before uttering a few choice curse words under his breath that he'd learned from the dwarves.

 _The dwarves._

His mood instantly turned from irritation to sorrow.

It had been a year since they'd returned, carrying a stinky trunk full of treasure and hearts full of memories, both good and bad. He still woke up some nights crying or frightened of orc shaped shadows. He knew she did too. She'd told him.

Adventure hadn't been what he'd thought it would be. Sure, there'd been excitement, glory, and eventually, gold. But the majority of it had been long days full of trudging, cold nights interrupted with watch shifts, fear, uncertainty, and the grief that comes from losing close friends and allies.

From what Gandalf had told them, Dain had adjusted to his new role as king smoothly and was currently up to his ears in the restoration of Erabor and the creation of treaties with the neighboring races. The news that should have relieved him only brought dew to his eyes. For where others saw a throne, he saw three empty places that should have been filled.

Bilbo sniffed and blinked suddenly wet eyes. Only then did he notice that he'd been cleaning the same saucer for several minutes. Dipping it into the rinse water and lying it on the dry rack, he let his hands go still again as he looked out the window over the sink. There was a young sapling growing in the corner of his garden carefully surrounded by a circle of smooth river rocks. His eyes lingered on the baby leaves.

He'd carried the acorn in his pocket throughout most of his adventures and somehow brought it home safely. It was a simple reward, but one he cherished almost more than the gold. The troll treasure definitely made certain things easier, but he'd found that keeping busy was the best way to deal with the memories. Tending to the young tree gave him something to do and a tangible, positive product of his time spent away from the Shire. It was only a little over a foot tall at the moment, but he looked forward to being able to rest in its shade in the years to come.

His reminiscing was interrupted by the soft grip of a slender hand on his left shoulder and another on his corresponding arm. Bilbo looked down an inch or so into warm brown eyes that gazed at him with solemn understanding and compassion. Fawn colored curls framed a face spotted with freckles from the summer sun.

"You're making the face again." She murmured, gently rubbing his arm with one hand.

Bilbo's eyes softened as he gave her a crooked smile.

"Which one?"

"The one that means you're thinking about what was lost instead of what was accomplished."

"True." He agreed, his smile fading once more. Absently, he placed a sudsy hand atop of hers on his arm. There was a pause as they both gazed silently out at the tree. "How do you do it? Stay positive?" he wondered sincerely.

Her eyes dropped to their hands and she sighed as she leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "I don't. Why do you think I recognize that look?"

Bilbo hummed in response. His attention was wondering to the warmth of the female hobbit's body which was slowly soaking into him, banishing his gloomy thoughts.

* * *

Fellina Gamgee, called Lina by her friends and family, was a distant cousin of Bell's. Bilbo and Lina had gone to school together as children, and when they were old enough, his father, Bungo had tutored them both in advanced studies, along with a few other young hobbits. Eventually though, the other children stopped attending the sessions, preferring to start work on their own professions and families.

Lina though, had never stopped coming. Not even when her father wanted her to stay home and help with his gardening business, or when her mother wanted her to help with the seamstress commissions she took in. She never tired of hearing Bungo teach (or more specifically, to read his books behind the notebook she was supposed to be studying). But her special joy was listening to Bilbo's mother, Bellladona's, fascinating tales of people and places beyond the Shire. Belladona had been a Took before she married, and that family's adventurous spirit had carried her beyond the borders of the Shire many times. It was there that she'd met people with stories from all over the land and even had a few minor adventures of her own.

As both Bilbo and Lina grown up together, one of their favorite things to do was to lie in the grass and tell each other stories. Sometimes it was retelling ones they had been told or overheard and sometimes they made them up on the spot. When they were younger, they enjoyed playing and acting out the more interesting ones. As they grew older, Lina's siblings took over her parent's businesses, leaving her freer to create and tell her stories. Some of the other hobbits thought her a dangerous influence, not wanting her tales of adventure to influence their innocent hobbit children. However, even the prickliest matriarch couldn't help but slow to listen when they came across Lina spinning a mesmerizing tale of magic and mountains before a crowd of hobbits both young and small.

Over time, Lina Gamgee had become Hobbiton's unofficial Storyteller. She was hardly ever paid, except by people from outside of town who stopped to see some of her impromptu story sessions and assumed she was a street performer or an official Storyteller. More often than not, she'd receive gifts of food, or her tab would be paid when she performed at the Dancing Pony. She was good for business, so the tavern keeper and shop vendors loved having her around. Every now and then she'd be invited to a party as the unofficial entertainment. Then she'd be sent home with a heap of leftovers or a hand-me-down coat that wasn't needed anymore.

Besides her storytelling, Lina helped her siblings in the gardens enough to earn enough to maintain a small hobbit hole of her own. She lived alone with only a small garden and as much reading materials as she could get her hands on. Bungo had been fond enough of her to leave her some of his more exotic tomes in his will, and Belladona had left the girl her journals from her adventuring days. Some hobbits in town thought that this was disrespectful to Bilbo, their only child, but Bilbo would have shared them with Lina anyway. When his parents died, Bilbo had encouraged Lina to continue to come by Bag End to borrow books and he was always happy to see her. He'd make tea or lunch and they'd have wonderful chats, comfortable enough with each other to be blunt about topics or opinions they wouldn't have shared with others. Lina's house was cozy, and the quiet was conductive for her reading, but even a devoted bookworm can feel cooped up after a while. When she got antsy, her first refuge was always Bag End. Though she loved sharing her stories with the other hobbits, she enjoyed spending time with just Bilbo. They had been each other's confidants since childhood, and they'd only grown closer as they grew into adults.

Lina and Bilbo had been enjoying a quiet dinner together at Bag End the night thirteen dwarves had tumbled through the door and eaten their way through the entire pantry. Gandalf had been a favorite of them both as young hobbits, but the responsibilities of being the only Baggins left on the hill, had sobered Bilbo a bit from the adventure loving youngling he'd been when the wizard had last brought his fireworks.

When the hobbits had first realized the opportunity they were being handed, Lina's eyes had sparkled with excitement even as Bilbo had back peddled away from the idea of a journey. She had been very quiet as he argued, fainted, and then argued some more. But she'd stayed the night in the guest room, like she sometimes did when they stayed up late talking. And they'd both listened to the dwarves' deep voices singing about their lost homeland. Bilbo fell asleep, still in denial. But when he'd woken in the morning, there were two bags lying next to the door, already packed with clothes, handkerchiefs, a bit of food, bedrolls, blankets, and other necessities. Lina hadn't said a word. She'd just smiled and shouldered her own pack, holding out a hand to him. He hadn't hesitated a second time. Throwing on a coat, he'd snatched up the contract in one hand and Lina's fingers in another and they'd run out the front door together.

If he was the official burglar for the company, Lina was the glue that held them all together. She could tease Bilbo out of his darkest, most insecure moods. She could give as good as she got when it came to pranks with the two young princes. Even Dwalin respected her after seeing her kill an orc with a single, well-thrown stone using her cloth sling. She never shirked from being able to make a task easier for another member of the company. She insisted on taking night watches and turns hunting, even when some of the more chivalrous dwarves as well as Bilbo would have spared her from the tasks. Thorin had been known to crack a smile in the midst of one of his darker moods after a quiet conversation with the hobbit maiden.

And then there were the stories. Lina's voice was made to tell tales, from the harshest, goriest tragedies to the most tender romances. She'd amassed a treasure trove of stories in her head over the years, as though unconsciously preparing for the long, boring days spent traveling and the bleak nights spent around a fire on their way to Erabor. Even Gandalf would sit, enraptured as she came up with stories right out of her own head, keeping the company from feeling too homesick or bored or worried. She never refused a request for a tale. Not even when her voice was hoarse and she was completely out of breath from trying to keep up with the taller dwarves. Bilbo had to step in a few times to keep her from becoming ill when she talked late into the night, keeping whomever was on watch company. As much as he may worry about her, Bilbo nearly burst with pride over the company's admiration for his friend. Recognition, he believed, was more than deserved.

He was slightly worried when some of the dwarves (*cough* mainly Fili, Kili, Nori, and Bofur *cough*) seemed inclined to flirt with his dearest friend. He didn't want her to get hurt in any way, and he wasn't the least bit jealous. Nope. Not one bit. Because you never knew what kind of strange courting traditions these dwarves may have. Anyway, she still spent the majority of her time with Bilbo. They played word games, told riddles, reminisced about their childhood, discussed the lands they passed through, teased Gandalf, and sung songs from the Shire. She kept him from sinking into depression and self-doubt. He was convinced he would have gone mad with only dwarves and a snarky wizard for company.

In return, he took care of her in whatever way he could. Many of the dwarves were more than happy to be of use to the pretty hobbit maiden. But he reserved certain tasks for himself, such as making tea the exact way she liked it, before they ran out at least. Or when he brushed her hair for her when it got too entangled for her to manage it on her own. There was one time that he'd helped her braid her hair after she'd washed it in a mountain stream and the dwarves nearly choked on their supper. When Balin pulled him aside later and told him that braiding hair was an intimate act for courting couples in the dwarvish culture, he'd sputtered, turned bright red, and worked very hard to ensure Lina never heard that particular fact. He could tell when she was getting overwhelmed and would make her excuses for some time on her own. She returned the favor when she saw that the dwarves' comments or manners had pushed him once more to his breaking point. He protected her from orcs and pushy dwarves, and she did the same for him.

Thirteen months later, two very different hobbits had returned to Bag End. They both possessed a confidence and inner strength that hadn't been there before, but their eyes were also full of shadows. Lina told some stories about their travels, but many parts she refused to talk about, except with Bilbo. The fact that one of the well-to-do Baggins had run off with the local Storyteller for over a year scandalized the fussy, traditional hobbits of Hobbiton. As did the ever more frequent nights spent at each other's homes when they stayed up until the wee hours of the morning remembering…or trying not to remember.

The day of the afternoon tea gathering, Bilbo and Lina were both still sleepy from staying up late talking to Gandalf. They'd discussed all that had happened at Erabor and across the land in the year since they'd come home. When Gandalf had finally left for the inn, they had sat in armchairs across from each other by the fireplace. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. Bilbo fiddled with a small piece of wood he was whittling and Lina occasionally plucked at the small harp she held. Thorin himself had taught her to play it, and the company had agreed that she deserved to inherit his harp when he died. She'd carried it all the way back home, often playing for them when the night was too full of memories to sleep without dreaming. Lina had stayed the night again, and woken up to help him bake and cook for the afternoon gathering. During the initial rush of greeting guests, eating, and exchanging news, they'd been swept away from each other by the tide of relatives and children. Bilbo's sister's news had been a surprise for all of them, and Bilbo wasn't the only one feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all.

* * *

Bilbo sighed. Lina was still leaning against him. The bubbles on his hands had all dissipated in the time they stood there, but he didn't want to move. They'd grown used to close contact along their journey. They'd ridden the same pony, taking turns driving. And after some pointed, practical comments from Gandalf after they'd both caught colds, they had often shared a bedroll at night, huddling together to keep warm. Despite what Hobbiton gossips might say, Bilbo was a perfect gentleman, and would never have even suggested the situation if survival had not called for it. Contact wasn't awkward for them anymore. It was natural to reassure or communicate to each other with touch now. Another reason for the older hobbits to gossip. But there were still times where Bilbo couldn't help but feel that uncomfortable, fluttery hope resurface under his skin at her touch.

Bilbo wasn't sure how long he'd been in love with Lina Gamgee. It seemed as though he had always loved her. He wasn't quite sure why he'd never done anything about it. Well, that wasn't true. He could think of dozens of reasons. His parents might not approve ( _that was an outright lie to himself; Belladona especially would have been thrilled_ ). Hobbiton may say they were too far apart in station for it to be proper ( _like he cared a whit about that_ ). They were comfortable just being friends ( _maybe_ ). She might say no ( _oh, yeah…that was a big one_ ).

He'd lost much of his hesitancy since trekking to Erabor and back with her, but he kept making excuses to himself.

They were recovering from the journey.

They were too tired from getting back Bilbo's property from his relatives and dealing with the nightly dreams.

They needed to get used to being back home first.

They were approaching the one-year anniversary, and their thoughts were busy with memories of lost friends.

Perhaps she already had her eye on another hobbit across the river where she went visiting last week.

Bilbo knew he was being a coward. But after having to be more courageous on their journey than any hobbit would dream of being, he thought he was entitled to a little cowardice.

Right now, he just wanted to enjoy her company without being worried about what might have been or what might be. But somehow, he had a feeling that wasn't going to last long. A shriek from one of the Gamgee lads confirmed his suspicions as it caused Lina to sigh and pull away. He instantly missed her warmth.

"I'll go make sure they don't knock any picture frames off the wall. Do you think I should take them outside and get them interested in a game of some sort?"

Bilbo wanted to think of an excuse to keep her in the kitchen with him. _Forever a coward in the face of love._ he thought, dully.

"Sure. Just keep them out of my flower beds." He said outwardly, releasing her hand. She smiled at him, before heading into the hallway.

"At least they aren't as messy as thirteen dwarves. Well, not quite anyway." She called over her shoulder. Bilbo groaned as she left, laughing.

He could hear her telling Hamson to stop sitting on his brother's head as she shepherded them towards the back door. The adults were still gossiping in the parlor. Lamenting his own bachelordom, he turned back to the dishes.

He was almost done when Gandalf joined him. The hobbit looked politely away as the wizard banged his head on the low ceiling.

"So, this is where you're hiding." The old man grumbled. "I thought you were with Lina."

"No." Bilbo finished washing the last of the cups and began drying the dishes with a cloth. He could have let them dry on the rack, but he wanted something to do with his hands. "She went out back with the children."

"Not with _all_ of them." Gandalf snorted, as though to himself.

"Hmm?" asked Bilbo, looking up from wiping the teapot. He was surprised to see a scowl on the man's face. The fierce eyebrows pulled low over his icy blue eyes. "Did one of the Gamgee lads sneak into the pantry again?"

"I was talking about _you_!" Bilbo jumped at his fierce tone. "YOU, Bilbo Baggins, are still a frightened little youngling, despite all of your adventures. I thought the dragon fire would have burnt it out of you, but I suppose I didn't account for the sheer stubbornness of hobbits!"

"Gandalf! What are you on about?" Bilbo exclaimed, feeling rather unjustly attacked.

"I sent you on a journey across more terrain than a hobbit has crossed in generations with a charming woman, and you don't have the nerve to step up and do what you've both been wanting for decades!"

Bilbo went pale.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He stated coldly, turning back to the teapot. However, it was jerked rather roughly out of his hands and placed back on the counter despite his indignant protests.

"Stop fluttering over your mother's teapot and go tell that hobbit lass that you love her!"

Bilbo shook his head.

"I can't."

"Why can't you?"

"I just can't."

"You said that about journeying to Erabor with thirteen dwarves. I talked you into that too."

"It was mostly Lina who convinced me." Bilbo muttered.

Gandalf inclined his head.

"Perhaps. But it will be _me_ that convinces you this time. I've had enough of this foolishness. You shared a bedroll for goodness sake!"

Now Bilbo blushed and bristled with outrage.

"It was perfectly innocent! I would never dishonor...! She wasn't…! YOU were the one who suggested-!"

"Yes, I was! And you two were too stubborn to let go of your fear and just talk all ready!"

Bilbo sputtered for several seconds before he got his tongue untied.

"Exactly how long have you been plotting this?"

"I thought it was a good idea when I saw you together as children. Then when I traveled near the Shire a few years back and heard you two were still friends and both single I knew I had to do something. I was already thinking of the two of you for the quest I was hoping to get started, and that just cemented the idea in my head."

"Why…you…you…!" Bilbo wasn't sure what he wanted to say first.

"And then you went through hell together and that still didn't push you two over the edge. And now I come back after another whole year and find you two STILL dancing around each other! So, I took matters into my own hands. I'll not put up with this anymore!"

"It's none of your concer-" Bilbo stopped as Gandalf's words registered. "What a minute! What did you do?"

The wizard snorted. "What I should have done a long time ago, apparently." He crossed his arms. "Remember the hairs I asked you and Lina for last night?"

Bilbo blinked.

"Yes. Are you finally going to explain what that strange request was for?" He'd thought it was just some strange wizard thing and had been too polite to pry.

"It wasn't strange. I had a very specific purpose I needed them for. I took them and with a little wizard's trick I finally settled the question."

"What question?"

"Of soulmates."

Bilbo's jaw fell open.

"Soulmates?"

"Yes. You are."

"Lina and I?"

"Yes."

"Wha-what does that mean?" the hobbit sputtered.

"It means that I was right and you two have been wasting your time, dancing around each other all of these years. The universe meant for you to be together and there was no way on Middle Earth that you wouldn't both fall in love with each other."

"L-love?" Bilbo was shaking now. "Lina loves m-me?"

"Of course, you fool! Anyone with eyes could have told you that. But now I've proven it beyond a doubt. There are rarely a pair so well matched for each other that they are considered soulmates, but now I've checked and you two definitely are."

Bilbo just stood there, staring at the tall grey figure. Suddenly the lifetime's worth of missed opportunities began to look more and more like a crime. Had he really been hurting her as much as himself with his self-denial? The idea of hurting his Lina sickened him. Wait… _His_ Lina?

"Excuse me." Bilbo said brusquely, striding past Gandalf and out the door.

He marched down the hallway and out the back door.

"Lina!" he called.

Lina was surrounded by a sea of Gamgee children. They were all tugging at her skirts and her hands, begging for a story about the dwarves and the dragon. Bilbo waded through the sea of younglings, tugging them gently off the maiden and pulling her free of the mayhem. The children became uncharacteristically silent as they all stared in wonder at the strange expression on Mr. Bilbo's face. Seeing their large, curious eyes, Bilbo almost chickened out. But the thought of Gandalf's assurance that this was meant to be, broke the last of his restraint. Squaring his shoulders, he lifted his chin to meet Lina's questioning gaze.

"Do you love me?"

Lina went white and sputtered worse than he had.

"Wh-what?" Her voice cracked on the word.

"Gandalf used our hair for some wizardy magic trick and he found out. He says we're soul mates."

Lina looked up sharply from the hands she'd been twisting in her skirts.

"He did? W-we are?"

Bilbo nodded. Lina placed a hand to her head, as though to keep it from spinning. She seemed too stunned to speak.

Bilbo waited a moment or two, before asking again, "So, do you love me?"

Lina straightened her shoulders to mimic his and adopted his matter-of-fact tone. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I do." It was out without Bilbo consciously speaking.

Lina blinked at him. "You do?"

Bilbo swallowed hard. "Of course. Have for absolutely forever."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Bloody painful sometimes." There was a pause. "So, do you?"

Now it was Lina who swallowed hard. "Love you?"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Oh." He waited a few seconds, as though thinking she was going to take it back. And then Bilbo's chest flooded with a tangled, fluttering mess of relief, hope, laughter, and joy. He struggled to keep from grinning from ear to ear. "Oh. That's good." There was another pause. _Might as well go all in._ he thought. "So, will you stay here for good? At Bag End? With me?"

Lina blushed, but didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"Will you marry me?"

A deeper blush. "Yes."

"Will we be happy together?"

Her eyes blazed fiercely. "Yes." She said with conviction.

Bilbo found himself taking a step closer. "And will we grow old and sit sipping lemonade under the oak tree telling each other stories after our hair has grown white and our joints get stiff?"

Lina took a step toward him, unable to stop a huge smile from crinkling the corners of her suddenly moist eyes. "Yes."

"Good."

"Good."

"I love you."

Lina smiled even wider. "I love you too."

"That's good." Bilbo was trembling with pent up energy.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Are you gonna kiss me?"

"Yeah."

"Hurry up then. I've been waiting long enough."

Bilbo would deny for years that a slight whimper escaped him as he surged forward at last to take the hobbit maiden in his arms. There was no hesitancy now as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. His arms wrapped securely around her waist and back as her hands reached up to tenderly cup his face. They both ignored the squeals and groans of the children bouncing around their heels as they clung to each other. Lina began to laugh against his mouth, and for half a second he was worried, until he pulled back and saw her tear stained face beaming at him with such love that his heart stopped for fully two beats. Once it thudded back to life with a vengeance, he laughed with her, pulling her even closer if it were possible. They kissed again, then pulled back, still laughing, only to come back together as though nothing could keep them apart ever again.

Unbeknownst to them, Gandalf and the other adults were peering at them from the window.

"Well it's about time!" Bell cried.

"I can't believe you did it!" Bilbo's brother-in-law said to the wizard. "We'd all given up hope."

" _You_ did. We didn't" Bell said, arm in arm with Bilbo's pregnant sister. Both were watching the couple outside with dewy eyes.

Hamfast, known as "The Gaffer", turned to regard Gandalf with raised eyebrows and commented, "Bell said you used some strands of hair in your wizardy trick to determine that they were soulmates. Now, I was taking a walk late last night, trying to get little Daisy to fall back asleep and I saw you leave Bag End and head back to the inn. An' I could've sworn I saw you pull out a handkerchief, unwrap it, pick up something I couldn't see, and blow them away with a cheeky little smile. At the time I just chalked it up to wizard oddities. But now I'm thinkin'… That wouldn't happen to've been those hairs that're so vital to this trick of yours, would they?"

Gandalf smiled mischievously under his bushy beard and winked at the hobbit. "It was a clever trick all-right. Just not a magical one."

"You mean you didn't-?" Bilbo's brother-in-law sputtered.

The wizard laughed.

The Gaffer shook his head at him. "So, there are no such things as soulmates?" he asked.

"Well, let me put it this way," Gandalf said with a smile. "If such things exist, those two would definitely be suited for each other on a soul level." He chuckled, gesturing to the couple outside, now surrounded by a circle of dancing younglings, as they laughed and clung to each other in the summer sun.


End file.
